Hotel workers Christmas walk out 

Hotel guests staying at Village Hotels in Leeds are facing Christmas chaos as workers walk out over demands for equal pay. 

Hospitality staff at Village Hotels in Leeds have joined colleagues from Glasgow in taking strike action in an ongoing dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.

The workers at two Leeds hotels are to take strike action for the first time after members voted to walk out during one of the busiest times of year – highlighting the strength of feeling staff have over the issue.

Over 80 per cent of housekeeping staff who are Unite members at the Leeds North and Leeds South Village hotel will take strike action from 26-28 December. 

This is a very busy time of year for the hotel sector, and their hardworking staff, and the strike could leave customers facing unmade beds and no cleaning services.

Workers at a Village Hotel in Glasgow are already engaged in strike action due to the poor pay and conditions that workers are forced to endure.

Unite Hospitality members at Village Hotels in Leeds will go on strike for equal pay, the real living wage and union recognition.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members at Village Hotels in Leeds are fighting for decency, fairness and equality in the workplace. The fact is that Village Hotels is refusing to pay its workers the real living wage. 

“This is an incredibly wealthy business refusing to pay low paid workers what they deserve. It is shameful and unacceptable.

“Unite will fully support the Village Hotels workers in their brave fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.” 

In its most recent accounts, VUR Village Hotels Ltd posted a profit after tax of £182million.

Village is a subsidiary of the American private equity firm Blackstone, which acquired the business in 2024 and reported revenues of $13.23bn last year.

In August this year, Village CEO, Gary Davis, stated that, “The great thing about being with Blackstone is money is not a problem”, yet the company refuses to introduce the real living wage for all workers which is equivalent to just 39 pence extra per hour. 

Unite Hospitality national lead Bryan Simpson said: “Village Hotels continue to treat its hard-working staff with contempt and disdain. Despite multiple formal requests, senior management simply refuses to address the fundamental issues of poor pay and conditions even when the company is raking it in.

“These workers have been left with no option but to take strike action during the most lucrative weekend of the year for the company because it appears to be the only way Village Hotels will listen to their legitimate concerns.” 

For more on Unite Hospitality go to their page here. 

By Keith Hatch